According to the Defense Ministry's official Web site, 193 servicemen committed suicide in 2006, and February 2007 alone saw 17 suicides in the Armed Forces.
"There is no decline in the number of offenses, particularly violence among servicemen, which is the main cause of suicides and desertions," the press service quoted Land Forces Commander Alexei Maslov as saying.
The commander said an increase in military offenses was the result of the poor morals and education of recruits.
"In 2006, recruits showed lower education levels, poorer health, both physical and mental, than before. Every fifth conscript was brought up in a single-parent family, every fourth had neither studied nor worked before recruitment, and every tenth had police records for different offences," Maslov said.
The official demanded that commanders inform military prosecutors on all offences in the Armed Forces as soon as possible.
The elevated number of casualties and hazing incidents became high-profile issues in the Armed Forces last year following a scandal involving Private Andrei Sychyov, who had both legs amputated after allegedly being beaten and tortured during the New Year's holidays in his Army unit in the south Urals city of Chelyabinsk.
The Pacific Fleet press service said Tuesday that the commander of 55th marine division in the Far East had been relieved of his duties after a number of officers were convicted of hazing and handed verdicts ranging from suspended sentences to five years in jail.
